NORTHLANE

Sydney hardcore fans have an opportunity this week to get up close and personal (outside of the typical concert setting) with one of Australia’s best bands in the scene at the moment, as Northlane conduct an in-store signing/meet and greet.

Guitarist Josh Smith said events like this are “always fun to do…we owe everything to the them [the fans] so there wouldn’t be a more important way for us to spend our time.”

The boys will be at Utopia Records to celebrate and talk with fans about their latest album Node, which is also their first release since bringing in new vocalist Marcus Bridge. As one can expect, changing vocalists has had a tremendous impact on the bands direction and sound. But it has been a positive change, meaning Northlane have produced a record that Josh describes as “…much more reflective of us as a whole”.

This new whole-band focus of the sound has come about because the band have entirely overhauled their writing process, opting now for a much more collaborative approach. By following this approach Josh has been able to impart more of his ideas into the songs, which he has certainly enjoyed. “I’m a pretty outspoken person, so I felt this was a really cool outlet for me to say what I wanted to say in a way that could grab peoples attention and make them think,” he said.

Josh was also quick to praise Marcus’ talent and ability to slot into the band so easily – and also to thank him for helping him with some of the intricacies of songwriting. “His skill set has been a really cool fresh pallet of stuff for us to work with and we’ve had a lot of fun working with him,” said Josh. “[Working with him] was cool for me because I can struggle to see how things fit into songs, so he was really helpful to bounce ideas off and give each other feedback.”

After the signing sessions the boys are set to embark on their first ever headline tours of North America and Europe, which Josh described as “scary but really exciting”. Unfortunately for Australian fans this means they will have to wait a little longer to see the guys performing locally again, but an announcement is coming very soon so keep your eyes peeled.

Jul 24. Utopia Records, 511 Kent St, Sydney. FREE. More Info: facebook.com/northlane